Parking watch



J. HICKEY PARKING WATCH July 14, 1942.

File-d Oct. 28, 1940 2 sheets-sheet 1 July 14, 1942.

J. HICKEY 2,289,496

PARKING WATCH Filed Oct. 28, 194C 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. I0

61 L/ Usl/a/ Hour/fand L7 5i/L Park/nj /auf' #and 7 A w Y m 55 56f A Z 58 50 nvenar 4 Park/'D7 Mini/fe #and mes Hickey f yf@ Patented July 14, 1942 UNITED STATES PATE-'i OFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to means embodied in a time piece and, in particular, in a pocket watch, for ascertaining elapsed time. More specifically, this invention relates to an improvement in an ordinary watch by means of which elapsed park- `means, suitable for embodiment in a pocket watch, to show the time in which a vehicle is parked, or to mark the time at a particular moment of any other event, to enable the possessor of the watch subsequently to ascertain the elapsed time.

Another object of this invention is to provide a means for adjusting such an indicator on a watch which can be set in the same manner as the ordinary hands of a watch and through the medium of the watch stem, but without affecting the normal setting and function of the watch,

The manner in which the above and incidental objects are attained through my invention will be hereinafter briefly explained in the following description in which reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings:

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of my parking watch;

Figure 2 is a corresponding View with the dials and hands removed;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary vertical section drawn to an enlarged scale land showing only certain parts of the watch that are pertinent f to my invention;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary side elevation corresponding to Figure 3;

Figures 5 and 6 are views similar to Figures 3 and 4, but illustrating the certain parts in a different operative position;

Figures '7 and 8 are views similar to Figures 3 and 4, and Figures 5 and 6 but showing still another operative position of the parts;

Figure 9 is a schematic fragmentary vertical i section drawn to a greatly-enlarged scale, showing certain parts associated with the mounting of the usual hands of the watch;

Figure 10 is a detailed View of the detent arm that serves to shift and retain the parts in dif- "l Figure 12 is a rear elevation of the watch of 5.

Figure 4, with rear face of the case removed, and drawn on a larger scale;

Figure 13 is a fragmentary vertical section of the watch of Figure 12 showing certain parts significant to the modied form of my invention; and

Figure 14 is a greatly-enlarged fragmentary section showing the mounting for the two sets of hands in this modied form of my parking Watch.

In Figure 1, showing a front view of a standard watch in which my invention is incorporated, the watch includes the usual case 20, the usual dial 2 I, the minute hand 31, hour hand 38, and winding stem 24. The only change appearing in the face of this conventional watch is the substitution of a parking dial 2|', graduated in twelve intervals spaced 30 apart, as shown, in place of the usual miniature dial for the customary second hand. In place of the usual second hand, and the mechanism for causing its automatic progressive movement around its dial, miniature hour and minute hands 45 and 45 respectively are provided in connection with the parking dial 2|. These miniature hands 45 and 46 are so connected and arranged as to be set to register any desired time by the manual operation of the winding stem 24, in a manner to be explained later. The stem 24 ordinarily serves to wind the spring of the watch, when the stem is at its normal position, and to turn the minute and hour hands 31 and 38 to new positions on the dial 2| when the stem 24 is pulled out a short distance in the customary manner. However, in my invention the stem 24 is made so as to perform an additional function, namely, the setting of the parking hands 45 and 4t.

By reference to Figures 2, 3 and 4, in which the winding stem 24 and associated parts are shown in the normal, spring-winding position, it will be seen that manual rotation of the stem 24 is transmitted by a gear 25, slidably but nonrotatably disposed on the stem 24, to a gear 26 and pinion 21, secured to the ends of a short shaft journaled in the housing plate 22. The pinion 21 is made twice as thick as the ordinary watch pinions, for a purpose to be explained later, and this pinion 21 cooperates with a pinion 30 which, in the normal position of the winding stem 24, is enmeshed with a gear 3| mounted on a shaft journaled in the housing plate 22, which shaft is connected to gears and other mechanism (not shown) for winding the watch spring in the customary manner.

The gears 25 and 26, the pinion 21, and the gear 3| operate on xed centers and in xed planes, but the intermediate pinion 38 is mounted as at 38 on the lateral projection of an arm 29. The arm 29 is pivotally-mounted on the housing plate 22 at 29. The arm 29 carries a pin 29a at the top. A detent bracket 28, the shape of which is shown more clearly in Figure l0, is pivotally-mounted on the housing plate 22 as at 28a (Figure 4). The other end of the detent bracket 28 (Figure 10), is notched as at 28e, 28d and 28e. The pin 29a of the arm 29 engages these notches in the detent bracket 28, and a wire spring 48 (Figure 4) holds the arm 29 with the pin 29a urged against the end of the detent bracket 28. Thus up and down movement of the detent bracket 28, as viewed in Figure 4, causes lateral movement of the upper end of the arm 29 and therewith produces shifting movement of the pinion 3|) into and out of engagement with the spring-winding gear 3| and out of and into engagement with other members as will be eX- plained later.

The detent bracket 28 (Figure l0) has a flanged and slotted portion 28h in the slot of which the grooved bottom end of the stem 24 fits, as shown in Figure 8, the bottom end of the stem 24 being thus connected to the detent bracket 28 in such a manner that the stem may rotate freely with respect to the detent bracket but up and down reciprocal movement of the stem will result in up and down arcuate movement of the detent bracket. Thus when the stem 24 is moved up or down, the position of the pinion 3E! will be shifted.

Ordinarily the detent bracket 28 is provided with two notches 28e and 28d, and, in the normal position of the winding stem 24, where the movable pinion 35 is enmeshed with the spring winding gear 3|, the pin 29a of the arm 29 lies in the uppermost notch 28e of the detent bracket 28, substantially as shown in Figures 3 and 4. An important feature of my invention, however, resides in the providing of a third notch 28e in the detent bracket 28 intermediate the conventional upper and lower notches 28e and 28d, as shown in Figure l0, the intermediate notch 28e serving to retain the movable pinion 38 in association with certain additional mechanism for setting the parking hands which will be described presently.

In the usual construction of watches of this type, the two-notch detent is swung in a short upward arc when the winding stem 24 is manually pulled upwardly to the position shown in Figures 7 and 8 and, by virtue of the pin 29a which bears against the detent the arm 29 is correspondingly swung in a short counter-clockwise arc so that the associated pinion 30 is moved out of engagement with the spring-winding gear 3| and into engagement with the gear 32 which is one of the usual train of gears that serves to move the minute hand and hour hand 31 and 38 during manual rotation of the stem, as in setting the time on the main dial 2|. The gear 32 meshes with a gear 33 which in turn engages a pinion 35 which is xed to the shaft 41 (Figure 9) that carries the minute hand 31, while a pinion 34, xed to the gear 33, meshes with a gear 36 that is mounted for independent rotation on the shaft 41 and has a stepped hub to which is attached the hour hand 38 substantially as shown in Figures 8 and 9. The pin 29a lies in the lowermost notch 28d when the stem 24 is pulled upwardly to the position for setting the usual hands,

stem 24 is pulled upwardly only one-half the distance between the normal spring-winding position of Figure 4 and the normal hand-setting position of Figure 8, the arcuate movement of the detent bracket 28 will swing the arm 29 in a very short counter-clockwise arc and allow the pin Zia of the arm 29 to thus engage the speciallyprovided notch 28e, as shown in Figures 5 and 6. The pinion 38, which is always rotating by any turning of the winding stem 24, through the medium of the pinion 21 and gears 25 and 25, will now be moved to a position midway between the spring-winding gear 3| and hand-setting gear 32.

The arm 28 is formed with a semi-spherical projection 49 which is ordinarily held pressed against the housing plate 22 by the action of a spring 42 (Figures 3 and 7), pressing against the opposite side of the arm 29 and by the inherent resiliency of arm 2Q. However, I provide a small recess 49 (see Fig. 7) in the housing plate 22 so that when the pin 29a of the arm 28 engages the center notch 23e of the detent plate 28, the semi-spherical projection 49 will enter the recess 49 in the housing plate 22, and thus cause the pinion 58 which is carried by the arm 2S, to be moved axially into the position shown in Figure 5 and out of the plane of the spring-winding gear 3| and of the gear 32 of the regular hand-setting mechanism. However, since the pinion 21 is made sufliciently thick, as previously-mentioned, the pinion 35 will still remain -enmeshed with the pinion 21 in spite of such axial movement of the pinion 3E?.

The pinion 3@ in this position, (Figures 5 and 6) now engages a gear 45 which is mounted for independent rotation on the stepped hub of the gear 35, as shown in Figure 9, and which is one of a special train of gears that is provided for setting the position of the parking hands by means of the winding stem 24. The gear 48 meshes with the gear 4|, freely disposed on a shaft 4| (Figure 6), and the parking hour hand 45 is made fast to this latter gear 4|. A pinion 42 engages the hour hand gear 4| and has an attached gear 43 that meshes with a pinion 44, firmly secured to the shaft 4 `to the end of which the parking minute hand 45 is rigidly secured. The ratio of these parking time setting gears is such that the minute hand 45 will make twelve revolutions for each revolution of the hour hand 45. Thus I have provided on the face of a pocket watch a time indicator that may readily be set by means of the winding stem of the watch, the parking time indicator hands being located in the place occupied by the conventional second hand. of an ordinary watch.

For types of Watches that are not equipped with the second hand and dial I provide a modified form of my invention which is illustrated in Figures 11 to 14. The parking hour hand 55 is mounted on the central spindle 55 and the parking minute hand 53 and the main hands 58 and 6|) of the watch are mounted on coaxial sleeves 52', 58', and 65', respectively. The gear 38 in the same manner as previously described is driven from the winding stem 24 by the intermediate gears 25 and 26 and pinion 21 and is shifted into engagement with the spring winding gears, main hand setting gears, or parking hand gears, by the action of the modified detent bracket 28 and the spring-urged pinion-carrying arm 23.

In this modied form of my invention, how- `ever, the movable pinion 38 is mounted on a shaft 50 (Figure 13), journaled in the arm 29, and the shaft D' extends through slots in the housing plates 62 and 53. A companion pinion 5U is secured on the other end of the shaft 50', at the opposite side of the housing, for movement in unison with the pinion 30. This companion pinion 5i), when moved to the intermediate position as a result of the movement of the arm 29, and when slid axially in unison with the pinion 30, (the axial movement of pinion 35 being brought about as previously explained), engages a gear 5I which in turn meshes with a pinion 52. The pinion 52 is made fast to a sleeve 52 which is freely disposed on the spindle 5S. The parking minute hand 53 is firmly secured at the other or forward end of the sleeve 52', substantially as shown in Figure 14. The gear 5I has an attached pinion 5'! which engages a gear 54. The gear 54 is made fast to the spindle 56 and the parking hour hand 55 is carried at the forward or opposite end of the spindle 55, the ratio of the gears being, as previously, twelve to one. The conventional minute hand 58 of the Watch is secured to the sleeve 58 journaled for independent rotation on the sleeve 52 and having an attached pinion 59 which is driven by the gear 33 (shown in Figure 8) when the hand is being set. The conventional hour hand 60 of the watch is likewise secured to the sleeve G5' journaled for independent rotation on the sleeve 58 and carrying the attached gear 6| which is driven by pinion 34 in the setting of the hand. The two conventional hands 53 and 60 and the two parking time indicating hands 53 and 55 are therefore all mounted coaxially with the spindle 55 and are capable of rotation independently of each other by virtue of the sleeve arrangement described. The Watch spring and associated mechanism (not shown) for causing the watch to operate as a time piece in the customary manner, producing rotation of the usual minute and hour hands 58 and E!) (Figure 14), is connected only with the sleeves 58 and 55 and is not connected with the sleeve 52 on which the sleeve 58 is rotatably mounted, nor with the inner spindle 55. Consequently the ordinary operation of the watch mechanism does not produce any movement of the parking hands 53 and 55 which normally remain stationary. However, the parking hands of the watch may readily be set in any position on the Watch face by adjusting the position of the winding stem in the manner described and this setting of the parking hands is done without interfering with the setting of the regular hands of the watch, or the operation of these regular time recording hands, or without interfering with the winding of the watch itself, the parkingV hands remaining stationary except when they are being Set.

I claim: S

1. In a parking watch of the character described, a pair of ordinary time indicating hands, an axially movable stem for winding said watch and setting the time indicating hands, a pair of parking time hands, a movable arm, a pinion carried by said arm, means connected with said stem for producing arcuate movement of said arm by axial movement of said stem, a train of gears connected with said time indicating hands adapted to be connected to said stem through said pinion when said arm is in one position, a

second train of gears connected with the winding ducing axial movement of said piniony when said arm is in a third position, a third train of gears connected with said parking hands and adapted to be connected to said stern through said pinion when said pinion is moved axially by the placing of said arm in said third position, a second pinion rotated through said stem and meshing with' said first-mentioned pinion, said second pinion being of unusual thickness so that said rst and second pinions will remain meshed with each other regardless of axial movement of said rst pinion, whereby said stem may be used for setting said parking hands as well as for setting said time indicating hands or winding said watch.

2. In a parking watch of the character described, a pair of ordinary time indicating hands, an axially movable stem for winding said watch and setting the time indicating hands, a pair of parking time hands, a movable arm, a pinion carried by said arm, means connected with said stem for producing arcuate movement of said arm by axial movement of said stem, said means including a detent bracket attached to said stem, said detent having notches provided therein, a member carried by said arm engageable in said notches and a spring adapted to hold said arm in engagement with said detent, a train of gears connected with said time indicating hands adapted to be connected to said stem through said pinion when said arm is in one position, a second train of gears connected with the winding mechanism for said watch and adapted to be connected to said stem through said pinion when said arm is in another position, means for producing axial movement of said pinion when said arm is in a third position, a third train of gears connected with said parking hands and adapted to be connected to said stem through said pinion when said pinion is moved axially by the placing of said arm in said third position, a second pinion rotated through said stem and meshing with said first-mentioned pinion, said second pinion being of unusual thickness so that said iirst and second pinions will remain meshed with each other regardless of axial movement of said rst pinion, whereby said stem may be used for setting said parking hands as Well as for setting said time indicating hands or winding said Watch.

3. In a parking watch of the character described, a pair of parking time indicating hands, an axially movable stem member, a movable arm, a pinion carried by said arm, means connected with said stem for producing arcuate movement of said arm by axial movement of said stem, said means so arranged as to permit said arm to be moved into three positions, said means including a detent bracket attached to said stem, said detent bracket having three engaging notches, an engaging m'ember carried by said arm for engagement with said notches in said detent bracket and a spring adapted to hold said arm in engagement with said detent, means for producing axial movement of said pinion when said arm is in intermediate position, a train of gears connected with said parking hands and adapted to be engaged -by the axial movement of said pinion when said arm is in said intermediate position, a second pinion rotated through said stem and meshing with said rst-mentioned pinion, said second pinion being of unusual thickness so that said first and second pinions Will remain meshed with each other regardless of axial movement of said first pinion.

4. elapsed time indicator including, a pair of parking indicating hands, an axially movable stem member, a pair of time handsJ and a springwinding mechanism, a movable arm, a pinion carried by said arm, means connected with said stem for producing arcuate movement of said arm by axi-al movement of said stem, a train of gears connected With said time hands adapted to be engaged by said pinion when lsaid arm is in one position, a second train of gears connected With the spring Winding lmechanism and adapted to be engaged by said pinion when said arm is in another position, means for producing axial movement of said pinion when said arm is in a third or intermediate position, a third train of gears connected with said parking hands and adapted to be engaged by said pinion when said pinion is moved axially by the placing of said arm in said third or intermediate position, a second pinion rotated through said stem and meshing With said first-mentioned pinion, said second pinion being of unusual thickness so that said first and second pinions will remain meshed With each other regardless of axial movement of said first pinion, whereby said stem may be used for setting said parking hands as well as for setting said time hands or operating said spring Winding mechanism.

JAMES HICKEY. 

